Cloutier's biggest Test
Ed Willes, the Province
CANADA.COM
In his two seasons of working with Dan Cloutier, Andy Moog has watched the young goalie evolve from a high-strung hothead into a legitimate No. 1 who can carry a team through a stretch drive and into the playoffs.
"A goalie goes through steps in his career," said Moog, the Canucks' goaltending consultant. "And Dan has taken some big steps this season."
Still, Moog is aware that Cloutier will meet some new challenges in the next 10 days as he prepares for another rite of passage.
For example, he'll meet Tomas Holmstrom.
And Darren McCarty. And Kirk Maltby.
And Brendan Shanahan. He'll also meet them in and around that blue semi-circle of which Cloutier tends to be a little protective.
"We're certainly going to get an opportunity to see if he can control his emotions in this series," Moog said on Monday.
Actually, we're going to get an opportunity to see a lot things about Dan Cloutier in this series.
As the Canucks prepare for Wednesday's Game 1 of their Western Division quarterfinal in Motown, the impending goaltenders' duel between Dominik Hasek, the most-decorated goalie of his generation, and Cloutier, still a playoff neophyte, emerges as the defining storyline of the series.
In the story within the story, however, Moog believes the more telling conflict might take place between Cloutier and his own flammable temper.
Detroit has a number of forwards, led by Holmstrom, who aren't exactly respectful of a goalie's personal space.
Cloutier, until this season at least, had a reputation as a goalie who could be thrown off by crease-crashers.
Put it together and it's a situation which bears monitoring as the series unfolds.
At the very least, it will reveal much about Cloutier's newfound maturity.
"They have a number of players who tend to crash the crease and have a presence around the net," said Moog, who learned a little something about the demands of the position during his 18-season NHL career. "He's really going to be put to the test.
"I'm not saying you can't (react to traffic around the net). But you have to pick your spots. It's something we're going to talk about."
And will likely keep talking about throughout the series.
In this, his breakout season, Cloutier has proven he's capable of shouldering the onerous workload associated with No. 1 goalie status.
His 31 wins were more than he'd amassed in his first four NHL seasons combined.
His seven shutouts set a Canucks' team record.
Most importantly, he compiled an 11-2-1 record and surrendered just 27 goals over his last 14 starts when the Canucks faced a must-win situation virtually every night.
Last year at this time he was the surprise selection in Game 1 of the Canucks' series against Colorado -- and played like it.
This year, he's a different goalie on a different team amid a completely different set of circumstances.
"There's a big difference between being a 25-year-old goalie with no playoff experience and a 26-year-old goalie (Cloutier turns 26 next week) who's been through what he's been through this season," said Canucks coach Marc Crawford. "He's much more prepared."
"We were in a situation where any mistake could have cost us a playoff chance," said Trevor Linden. "I think the confidence he got in himself is huge. We believed in him. He just proved it to himself down the stretch."
Cloutier, in fact, sounds more like a Zen monk than an NHL goalie when asked about his improvement.
He talks about his composure and patience.
He talks about his ability to block out extraneous distractions.
Now, he has to apply those skills against the most dangerous team in the NHL on the game's biggest stage.
One thing about being a goalie: complacency isn't an occupational hazard.
"It doesn't come overnight," Cloutier said. "Anyone can go in there and have a great game on one night. But you have to do it on a consistent basis.
"I think I've done that this year. You play 60 games and you're going to learn some things about yourself."
And others will learn things about you in the process.
"I sense he really wants to show his teammates and his coaches, 'I can take care of these guys'" Moog said. "I think he takes a lot of pride in going out there every night to win over his teammates and coaches."
Cloutier made his point this season. But didn't someone say the playoffs are a whole new season?